Don’t fall for latest corporate records scam

Friday, August 23, 2013

If you own or work for a business, don’t respond to an official looking mailing from a group called Corporate Records Service. Businesses across the state have reported getting the letter, which asks you to fill out an annual corporate records form and send $125 to an address in Raleigh by September 4.

The letter includes references to state law on corporate records, which is enforced by the North Carolina Secretary of State. But the Secretary of State’s Office does not issue letters like the ones sent by Corporate Records Service, nor does the agency collect fees for filing these records.

We’re investigating these misleading letters, and have taken action against a possibly related scam in the past. In that case, we barred a California company that sent similar mailings from operating in the state and returned $90,000 in checks it had collected to small businesses across North Carolina.

If you receive one of these letters, don’t respond. Report scams like this one to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or filing a complaint online at www.ncdoj.gov.